Bangla ex-PM Khaleda cleared of 2 charges
Dhaka,
Oct
26:
Bangladesh's
fallen
prime
minister
Begum
Khaleda
Zia
has
won
a
reprieve
in
her
battle
to
clear
her
name
after
the
country's
powerful
Anti-Corruption
Commission
said
it
had
found
no
evidence
to
prove
at
least
two
allegations
against
her.
Khaleda,
in
jail
facing
possible
trial
for
alleged
extortion
and
abuse
of
power,
was
investigated
by
the
commission
for
alleged
wrongdoing
connected
to
compensation
for
fires
at
a
gas
field
operated
by
US
firm
Occidental
in
1997
and
also
for
awarding
a
mining
concession
without
following
due
procedure.
''After a preliminary inquiry, the commission has not found any evidence and witnesses to prove the allegations of irregularities,'' said Mokhlesur Rahman, the commission secretary.
''The inquiry against Khaleda in the issues will be suspended,'' he said.
Analysts said the decision would help Khaleda's image, but the commission is still investigating allegations against Khaleda and her rival Sheikh Hasina, another former premier, on other allegations.
Khaleda, and her younger son Arafat Rahman, were arrested in September after the commission accused them of illegally influencing the selection of an operator for two state-run container depots in 2003.
Khaleda's elder son and apparent political heir, Tareque Rahman, has in jail since March on corruption charges.
More than 170 key politicians have been detained in the anti-corruption drive, including dozens of former ministers.
The country's army-backed interim government, which took over in January, imposed an indefinite state of emergency, cancelled as election planned for Jan. 22 and launched a massive hunt for corrupt politicians.
It says the clean up of politics is required to ensure that parliamentary elections the government now plans for around the end of next year will be free and fair.
Reuters
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